Sunday, September 29, 2013

We are part of the Book Blitz of Choosing You by Allie Everhart. With a lot of promotional items, we hope you have a lot of fun and that you like Allie Everhart's new book!

Choosing You (The Jade Series #1)

Allie Everhart

Publication date: September 23rd, 2013

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.

Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.

He puts his phone away. “Can I come in? I’m kind of a target out here in the hall.”

“A target for what?” I ask, moving aside to let him in.

“Girls fondling me.” A smirk crosses his face as he waits for my reaction.

“Please tell me you’re kidding. Because if you’re not, then I need to start upping the insults again to bring you back down to earth.”

He’s trying hard to keep a straight face. “You saw Ava just now. Girls just can’t help themselves. What can I say?”

I shake my head and start rummaging through my drawer for a shirt. “I can help myself. I’m completely immune to whatever you think you’ve got going on over there.”

“Yeah, I know,” he mumbles. “You need some help?”

“Why? You think I can’t dress myself?”

He stands next to me, staring down at the open drawer. “Everything in here is black.”

“Yeah.” I close the drawer and open the one beneath it. “And everything in here is white.”

“Where are your other shirts?”

“That’s it. Well, I have a few in the closet.”

He walks over to look. “You only wear black or white?”

“Uh, yeah. Are you just getting that? You’ve seen me how many times and you’ve never noticed that?”

“Huh. I guess not.”

“It’s just easier that way. Black and white go with everything.” I take a black t-shirt from the drawer.

“You should wear purple sometime.”

I almost choke laughing. “Purple? Are you joking?”

“What’s wrong with purple?”

“I’ve never worn anything purple in my life. I’ve never even considered it. It’s one of those weird colors that old ladies wear.”

“Lots of people wear purple. And with your green eyes, you would look great in purple.”

“I hate my green eyes. The last thing I want to do is draw attention to them.”

He comes closer and lifts my chin up with his hand. “How could you hate your eyes? They’re the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. Why do you think I’m always staring at them?”

“Yeah, that’s hilarious.” I push him back. “Now get out of here so I can change. Wait in the hall. I’ll be like two seconds.”

“Jade, you know I’m not safe out there.” He says it as if he’s really in danger. “Did you see all those girls running around in towels and robes?”

I roll my eyes. “I swear. The insults are coming, my friend. So tell your ego to get ready.”

He stands there.

“You’re really not leaving? Fine. Then turn around.”

I change into my jeans and black shirt. “Okay, I’m done.”

He inspects me. “Yeah. You definitely need some color. The black and white thing is getting old.”

“Well, I’m not planning on buying new clothes so you’ll have to get over it.” I search through my desk drawer for money. “How much are movie tickets? I haven’t been to a movie in years, so I have no clue. Six bucks? Seven?”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

“Garret, you’re not paying.”

“You just saved me from being man-handled by Ava. That’s at least worth the price of a movie ticket. Maybe even some popcorn, too.”

Allie Everhart writes about dating, love, and romance. She’s also a freelance writer for magazines and websites. Before freelancing, she was a book editor for a publishing company where she worked on several NYT bestselling nonfiction books. She loves to read as much as she loves to write. And when she’s not reading or writing, she’s outside running, which is when she gets her best book ideas.

Why did you write Choosing You?

About a year ago I started reading some New Adult books and I liked them so much I couldn’t stop! At the time I wasn’t even considering writing my own New Adult book because I was still writing my Young Adult series, The Samantha Project, (written under a different name). That series has some romance in it and I found that I really liked writing those scenes. I liked all the emotion that came through when the main character was dealing with her conflicted feelings over the two guys in the book. So when I finished that series, just for fun, I wrote an emotion-packed scene in which a girl in college is struggling to deal with issues in her relationship with a guy as well as issues from her past. After writing that scene, I instantly connected with Jade, the main character. The story took off from there and that scene ended up being the opening scene in Choosing You.

What else can you tell us about Choosing You that’s not in the description/blurb?

Jade and Garret take time to get to know each other in this book. There’s no insta-love. In a lot of the books I read, the guy and girl meet and are in love the next day. I didn't want that for these characters. I wanted the relationship to build over time. Jade and Garret are definitely attracted to each other from the very beginning but they’re not in love right away. They’re friends first and Jade has to learn to trust Garret before she’ll move the relationship forward. This is more like real life, but it also creates tension and anticipation for the reader which is good because it keeps the story moving forward.

Another thing to mention is that I really wanted this book/series to have a strong female as the main character. Jade is tough and resilient. She lived through a difficult childhood and came out ahead. But sometimes her tough exterior is used to hide the emotions that she needs to deal with, and that’s where Garret comes in. He’s the only person who’s able to get her to deal with things and express the emotions she tries so hard to hide.

Why did you decide to include a mystery in the book? Why not just straight romance?

I wanted to make the story run deeper than just the romance. My YA series has lots of twists and turns, suspense, conspiracies, secrets, etc. I like all that stuff. I find it fun to read about. The Jade Series doesn’t have all of that, but it has some of it. There’s a mystery that runs through the whole series that involves both Jade and Garret. And as with my other series, there are some unexpected twists and suspenseful moments.

We have the pleasure to be part of the amazing book blitz of Jamie Blair's book: Leap Of Faith.

Leap of Faith

Jamie Blair

Published by: Simon & Schuster BfYR

Publication date: September 3rd 2013

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Can true love be built on lies? A teen on the run seeks relief and redemption in this gripping, romantic read.

Leah Kurtz has finally found a place to call home, a town where she and baby Addy can live in peace, far from the drug-infested place she grew up. Chris is one of the best parts of her new life, the only person who’s ever made her feel safe. And now that she’s found him, there’s no way she can tell the truth:

Her real name is Faith, not Leah. She’s seventeen, not nineteen. And the baby isn’t hers—Faith kidnapped her.

Faith’s history catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions and Chris’s aunt spots her picture in the newspaper. She knows it’s time to run again, but if Faith leaves, she’ll lose Chris. If Chris is in love with a lie, though, did Faith ever really have him in the first place?

Jamie Blair's dream cast:

Michael Pitt as Chris

Ellen Page as Faith/Leah

Jamie Blair's songs:

Two Is Better Than One - Boys Like Girls ft. Taylor Swift

Look After You - The Fray

Gone Away - Safetysuit

Far Away - Nickelback

It's Not Over - Chris Daughtry

With Arms Wide Open - Creed

Come Back To Me - David Cook

Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson

Falling For You - Colbie Caillat

Broken - Lifehouse

After a few minutes of Chris flipping through the channels with the remote while we eat, I have to break the silence again. “How was work? Where do you work, anyway?”

“I have a glamorous job roofing houses for RJ Roofing.” He leans back and rubs his stomach. “I’ve been there a couple of years. It’s not bad. They’re good people to work for.”

“That sounds horrible to me.”

He lifts one eyebrow.

“I’m terrified of heights. I couldn’t ever go up on a roof. Plus it has to be about a hundred and fifty degrees up there.”

He chuckles. “It is. And you come home covered in tar and dirt. But the pay’s good.”

“How long have you played the guitar?” I look down at my hands.

I can’t stop asking questions.

I hate that he won’t ask me his own questions even if I won’t answer them anyway.

He stretches both arms over his head and yawns. “About five years.”

I nod and tuck my hair back again.

“Here.” He reaches into his pocket and shoots me with a rubber band. “For your hair. It’s not going to stay behind your ears.” His smile’s easy.

Tonight, his eyes match his dark blue shirt. I like his chin length hair down. It makes the angles of his face softer. Faint stubble has grown on his chin. No wonder I’m obsessed with him. He’s hot.

My eyes make their way back to his, and I can tell he knows what I’m thinking. I shift to peer at the TV, feeling my pulse race. I ball my hair on top of my head and wrap the rubber band around it.

“Faith,” he mumbles.

I jerk around. “What did you say?”

“The tattoo on the back of your neck, it says hope and faith.”

I reach around with my hand, covering my tattoo. It’s a banner inside angel wings with our names on it. Hope and Faith. My sister and I got them last summer. It took me forever and five days to talk her into it. She got hers as a tramp stamp, thinking she could hide it. More people have seen hers than mine since her track pants sit low on her hips.

“Yeah.” I swallow my fight or flight instinct. “Do you have any tattoos?”

In one swift movement, he whips off his t-shirt. There, in the middle of his tan chest, beside a smear of paint, is a cross with two dates inscribed on it. One across, one down. Its intricate design has my fingers itching to touch. Instead, I crawl on my knees around the table to get a closer look.

Is kidnapping ever justified?

In Leap Of Faith, the main character, Faith, kidnaps her newborn sister, Addy, in order to give her a better life. Faith’s mother is a drug addict. Faith has grown up in a neglectful and mentally abusive home, often with no food to eat. In her mind, there is no way she can let this baby grow up the same way she has.

I was approached by a woman who had a very similar situation in her family, so the question I never expected to be asked and never even considered when writing Leap Of Faith was asked: Is it ever okay to kidnap a child from an abusive or neglectful parent?

Approaching the topic from a fictional standpoint as I had, I felt that Faith was justified in her actions, but it was illegal, so I can’t in good conscious say it’s a measure that should be taken in a real-life situation. On the other hand, a child should never be left with an abusive or neglectful caregiver. There are steps to take, authorities to involve—it might take a while and be frustrating to wait for a resolution, but kidnapping can’t actually be an option, can it?

Is there ever a time when it’s justified? When a child you love is in danger? What are your thoughts?

Jamie Blair spent most of her teen years choreographing moves for her dance team routines, kissing boys on the couch after her mom went to bed, and pondering the mood enhancement qualities of Lemon Heads when consumed with Diet Coke. Writing under Kelli Maine, she’s the USA Today bestselling author of Taken. Leap of Faith is her debut New Adult novel.

10 WINNERS:

Win (1) of (5) prize packages of a signed hardback, a t-shirt and a guitar pick

Win (1) of (5) e-books with an autographed Leap Of Faith notecard, a guitar pick and stickers

Saturday, September 28, 2013

I'm bookstruck. Yes, Book Addicts, I'm not only madly in love with Travis Maddox, but I'm truly, madly in love with Beautiful Disaster.

After a few interviews with some authors, I saw that they had a thing for Travis Maddox and this book, so I needed to know this guy. And holy grail of hot characters!

The story of this two characters, Abby and Travis, is a mess. Their relationship is a train wreck and they are a disaster. I totally understand now the title of this book.

Abby Abernathy has a lot of potential as a character, however there's a lot of times that you want to slap her for a lot of reasons. She's smart and it's not afraid to say or do whatever she wants. However she has some moments that you start to doubt her. Like when her father arrives at college and she's in mode salvation on. I would slap her and her father for being such a jackass who has a serious problem. Or when she has a possessive controlling moment with Travis. I mean, girl, tell him to give you some space, I you love him, but you need to tell him that he's overreacting and it's being controlling and exhausting.

Another thing I didn't like, probably because I was Team Travis from the first page, was Abby's relationship with Parker. Come on, girl! The boy is exhausting in a boring way. He's the typical wealthy, handsome boy who's going to Harvard. And Abby goes with him, because it's the right thing to do. She cannot go back to her old life, and Travis represents all of that.

Travis Maddox, well, ladies, I'm in love with him. He starts like a player/heartbreaker/womanizer and ends up being a desperate/puppy guy. How the hell did that happen? I mean, it's okay to change the guy, because If I were Abby, I won't date him If he was saying other girls, but to "turn him" in a needy guy? Come on, where's the Travis "Mad Dog" Maddox? I kind of missed him at the end of the book.

Despite this, Travis is a sweet guy, that was waiting for the right girl. The right girl who would make him stop partying, stop the fights, stop the one night stands and turn him into the perfect guy who would do anything and everything for her. And that her is definitely (*drum roll*) me Abby.

Okay, one tiny little thing that I like, but didn't find believable was the bet. I loved how they played along and Abby kept her promise, but in a real situation, with a boy you have just met... would you go live with him, for a month? Even If it's Travis Maddox? Don't think so. It was not realistic at all. However, I liked it. This bet, put the two of them in a situation where their sexual attraction is really tested and they barely hold themselves. And in more than one of those situations you want to slap Abby for being so naïve and not see how much Travis had changed and how much he cared about her.

And who's the character you hate the most in this story? Abby's father. He's a jerk that thinks that her daughter screwed his life by taking his luck away from him. Say what? Yep. A total moron. He clearly hates her daughter and it's not ashamed to show it. So when he shows up and asks Abby's help, I kind of hated him and couldn't believe that she said yes.

I loved Travis' family. It's like a house full of sweet testosterone and I saw that Abby was comfortable around the boys. It's like she was supposed to by with this family from the beginning. They're beyond sweet and we loved them for it!

This story is full of tension, drama, fights, bad decisions and true love. I really enjoyed it, but, as I said before, this true are both a mess and they need to heal first, before being together in a relationship. They are a bomb that you expect to see it blow up during their relationship, and that bomb would mean break-up and drama, high level drama. And at some point, you that bomb goes off. It was a matter of time. Their love story is surely intense and they both need to improve some things, like Travis controlling character, or Abby's insecurities, but this story shows us that, sometimes, love is enough.

Why I highly recommend this book? Because Abby and Travis relationship has such a strong intensity and passion that would consume you. And because they are a mess, they need one another to heal and be a better person.